What Dawson Leery did next... 'Apartment 23'

"I don't wanna wait for our lives to be over!"James Van Der Beek broke a million girls' hearts back in the '90s as surprisingly articulate movie buff and irritating romantic dreamer Dawson Leery.

Since the cast of Dawson's Creek parted ways, Joey (Katie Holmes) has found herself shacked up with one of the world's biggest movie stars, Pacey (Joshua Jackson) is a cult legend in Fringe and Jen (Michelle Williams) has become an established Hollywood actress. But what on Earth happened to the show's hapless lead Dawson?

Fret not, because James Van Der Beek will be making his return to the small screen in 2012 with Apartment 23. Channel 4 confirmed earlier this week that it has picked up the rights to the ABC series, which finds Van Der Beek playing an exaggerated version of himself - a sex mad ladies' man still living off his Dawson's Creek glory.

Watch a preview of Apartment 23 below:

With American Dad! writer Nahnatchka Khan at the helm, the show looks like one of the most promising new comedies of the 2011-12 season and in case you were worried about Van Der Beek's abilities as a comic, you can check out his pedigree in one of his notorious Funny or Die videos below: